likes/dislikes (Houston, Dallas, Austin: theater, casinos, to live in)
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I moved to the Houston area 2 weeks after Hurricane Ike. So I have seen the city come back from a major disaster like a phoenix from death. Houston really did a good job with the hurricane damage. But this is what I Like/Dislike about H-Town:
Likes:
*Great job opportunities especially if you're in the Medical Field
*Affordable housing
*Strong economy compared to other US cities
*Citizens are friendly to newcomers (In my opinion)
Dislikes:
*Houston is the 4th largest city in the US, however, to me it does not possess that big city feel that Chicago, NYC, are even Philly has.
*H-Town weather sucks, very humid and summers that will burn you alive.
*Although H-Town is very diverse, people of the same ethnic group seem to stick together and live among themselves, which sort of kills the whole "diversity" aspect of the city.(This is not the case for the entire city but from my experience most of it)
*Houston is a suburban city, get use to massive strip malls, cookie cutter neighborhoods with zero uniqueness, and poor public transportation. You NEED a car to survive in Houston, no way around it. Houston has METRO buses and a METRO light rail line that is very ineffective (runs from the University of Houston Downtown to Reliant Park)
*Crime in Houston is something that is overlooked, I've lived in New Orleans, Shreveport,
and in the process of moving to Philadelphia. It seems to me that Houston
plays down it's crime, but believe me when I tell you, there's crime in the city
and it's not contained to one area, it's pretty random. (In any city,
especially a city of Houston's size there's going to be crime, but other places I lived
in didn't try to cover up the crime like Houston tries to do).
*If you're a person with a city dweller personality (you like the big city feel, you crave
for the fast paced hustle and bustle lifestyle) I doubt you will like Houston that much.
Overall Houston is an ok city. It definitely isn't the entertainment capital of the US but
it's an affordable down to earth city with plenty of opportunities for people willing to take
advantage of them.
its simple. because its not known to be the countryside. its New York City. its Chicago. people immediately know whats there and probably dont know where to start. kinda like the chocolate factory, noone really would complain about the ugly midgets. or to be fair, Houston is like this hot naked model, but flat chested. and shaved. with a mispelled word on her tattoo. and has stretchmarks on the belly. focusing on the flatness just might be a nice way of putting it
Eh...
What?
Houston's a hot naked chick that's almost perfect but may have a few minor physical flaws?
I really don't get this. Really, and I'm trying to understand.
Location: from houstoner to bostoner to new yorker to new jerseyite ;)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by atlantis7
I have lived in Houston twice. Never by a choice other than salary and opportunity. I have lived all over the US..in desert cities like Phoenix and "valley cities" near mountains like Denver. I lived inside the city in Chicago but used the freeways frequently. I am originally from Tennessee, with lush rolling and hilly topography. I also spent the better part of 22 years all over Florida. So i have pretty much anticipated every move with adventure and discovery.
I am going to give it to you the way I see it.
Factually, Houston is a badly polluted city. It is more unattractive than other cities larger and smaller because it literally has no zoning...and that isn't just Harris county. There is the replication of sameness that permeates the entire area..like the scenery in a cartoon. Predominantly, the first thing you sense is it's density and the elaborately confusing maze of it's freeway system, service roads, and the uniquely labeled, "farm to market" (FM) roads that have grown into the main interior arteries. These roads are called by their numbers (i.e. FM518, etc) but are slowly disappearing by those historic designations as the sprawl consumes former range land and roads receive regular names.
Speaking of history. You can read about it and the area is rich in it but you won't see much of what represents it still standing. Like so many major cities in the 60s, the attempt at Urban renewal, turned anything in the way of "progress" into parking lots. You will find no old classic western epitaphs to Sam Houston's settlement.
The downtown area of Houston is a monument to the rivalry with Dallas in the 80s. It makes for impressive photographs or first impressions at night but is actually rather the standard ostentatious mirrored glass fare that defines average skylines.
If action is more your definition of a big city, your life will remain inside the beltway andtighter, around the core area. The med center, Montrose, midtown, Heights, and Galleria areas, and upper downtown areas will be the spots where you live, work and play. This is what people who love the city and live this lifestyle define as HOUSTON. This is where the offices for big corporations are, the high end shopping, the Universities and the complex of hospital brands. There are lots of nice restaurants and moderate nightlife but for a city the size of Houston, not so impressive and the city folds up early.
Houston is one of those paradoxes. It is a city of many churches and almost as many strip clubs. To me, it is something I typically expect in Hooterville, Texas.
PICK UP TRUCKS! There are more of them than in any other city in the U.S. Half of them serve some purpose in all the industrial and construction jobs. The other half is status. It's a Houston thing first, a Texas thing second. You would think that most of the owners of pick up trucks would have bought Shelbys, the way they ramrod the freeways at breakneck speeds but it all goes with the boots and the attitude. It's a town of Budweiser cowboys.
It is not uncommon to see trucks overturned on any of the jam-packed freeways here. I have never lived anywhere where there is more fuel in the drivers than the vehicles. That is not an exaggeration either.
The burbs all look alike and are crammed together like houses on a monopoly board. You can get better than average deals on houses in Houston. That is, more square footage for the buck. As with cars, the amenities quickly run the price up..still, compared to most cities this size (AND EVEN SOME LESS THAN HALF THE SIZE) you'd be getting an exceptional deal at any price you pay here.
The caveat is that construction is wild here. There is a deception that buying one of the famous established builder names will get you a well built home. First, many of those long established big names are now owned by some large corporation - not the original builder who gained the reputation for his work. I speak from experience.
I bought a home built by a well-respected builder in a new and very desirable area near the space center. When you have a home inspected, there are many things the inspector ignores and most of it is regarded as cosmetic, although a lot of that stuff can sometimes be structural behind a facade.
Finish work and stuff like drywall, framing, baseboards, windows, concrete and tile is never even inspected unless there are glaring cracks or highly problematic issues so LOOK AS CLOSELY AS YOU CAN AT EVERYTHING AND HOW IT IS PUT TOGETHER. I will be happy to give anyone a crash course It will save you lots of money and heartache.
There is a lot of sub-standard work here. I do not mean this in a racially derogatory way but these builders hire dirt cheap labor that is only basically skilled. That is why houses are so cheap here. It is happening everywhere but here...it's epidemic. There is no craftsmanship anymore unless you hand pick your crews and tell the builder what you expect.
If you want space and a little privacy, be prepared to head waaay out of town and have a fist full of cash. What you will most often get is flat, treeless and aesthetically bland and you will pay dearly for an acre or two. This ain't Tennessee and it is no where near paradise.
I don't want to be unfair. There are some hot spots for those who love nature and want trees, wildlife, maybe a lake and more room to stretch. Those places are mostly north of Houston, like Lake Conroe. There are attractive subdivisions up there too (if you will still settle for planned communities and homeowner associations where you are told what color mulch you can use and pay $500 bucks a year to get flowers planted at the entrance.) The Woodlands is outstanding and is what some people actually move here for. It is a long haul to downtown but worth the peace of mind. A lot of planned communities with fountains and lakes, golf course and nature trails are being built around the Lake Jackson area, southwest of Houston toward the coast too.
Having given the thumbs up to housing prices here, know to expect to pay utility taxes in most places and they are not cheap. Mine were $1500.00 a year last year. Also property taxes are the balancing factor in housing. I have a home assessed at 220k and my taxes are nearly 7 grand. In Tennessee,I had three acres with a house that was assessed at 100k more and paid $1100. a year in taxes! Problematically in Tennessee, there are no jobs.
POWER LINES! Get used to it. They are endless and they are everywhere. South of the city they are more prominent because there are fewer trees and more open land. Galveston and Brazoria counties were once all farm and grazing land. High tension towers create mazes through the landscape. Business and residential are built around them. Personally, they are a health hazard and I don't like being close to them but Like i said, this place is a no-zoning nightmare that doesn't waste any space to add to the tax base..and make no mistake, it's ugly.
Others have posted about mass transit here and the lack of it. IT is almost criminal, in my view, that a city this size doesn't have a train and when gas returns to five bucks a gallon, you will be praying for one. This is one of those cities where the land area is so large that it can take two hours to get twenty miles, depending on traffic - and traffic ain't pretty and IS worse than any other major city that I have lived in...Miami, Washington D.C., Tampa, Atlanta...YES EVEN Atlanta. The freeway literally backs up for miles at the approach to an exit that serves malls.
If there is any real culture here, it is for those who have money to spend. The ballet and symphony are great. The rodeo comes in February every year and is the spectacle that seems to bring the whole town together. It is somewhat of a super carnival with big name talent but it gives everyone the chance to buy some expensive cowboy clothes and be seen eating a messy bar-b-q sandwich in public.
Houston has a great ZOO and several better than average museums. There are a few great parks downtown and some on the outskirts that fall short of communing with nature. There are however some great small parks in one concentrated area of Seabrook on the bay, if you want a totally different personality of the area for escape.
Then there is Galveston. There is no conventional category to put that place in. Its a very long island with a pretty unattractive central beach. The water stays murky and brown because the island is so close to the mouth of the Mississippi around New Orleans...not to mention the shipping channel enters at Galveston and there are plenty of oil rigs offshore.
The island has a cruise terminal and a high industrial area that could be cleaned up to compliment the surroundings but that is the way it's done in Texas. You dump your trash next to your million dollar home. (figuratively speaking)
The old downtown area is a charm and a good vibe. The trend is to convert old warehouses and ice houses and bank buildings into very expensive lofts. There are also some of the most beautiful 1800s and early twentieth century homes this side of Charleston and Key West. The huge trees and those homes are monuments to the survival of the largest hurricane in U.S. History in 1900. Galveston is not the most attractive beach and certainly not the most attractive town but it has it's own unique flavor. It is a little bit of everything and most of all, it is a great excuse to get the heck out of Houston. ANOTHER CAVEAT: YOU CAN BE TEMPTED TO BUY A HOME ON THE BEACH THERE. DON'T. Many of the houses that this state and the county allowed to be built on the beach, should never have been allowed to be built. Many of them were severely damaged or are gone completely after IKE.For as many times as this whole area has been taunted by major storms, you'd think they would learn and change their approach to planning and precaution. THEY DON'T. Use your own common sense. The government has very little here.
Have I covered just about everything? CRIME? Almost forget. Yes, there is lots of it and according to which poll you value, you'll find the statistic that makes you comfortable. Generally, I think it is on a par with some of the worst. There is lots of home invasion here and gang stuff is always on the news.
Would I want to raise my kids here? Truthfully, no. If I wanted to come to Texas and to a good sized town, I'd choose Austin. All for reasons that will become apparent when you do your own research.
Recessionary and economic signs are starting to show in Houston but not to the degree that they have in some places. It is taking longer to sell houses now and builders are making deals which makes it harder for others who have to sell existing homes. It is however, no buyers market situation like Florida.
Last note. The weather is attractive three quarters of the year. Summers are hot and miserable. Remember. It is humid here and that makes it worse. I lived in Tampa and Phoenix and enjoyed the summers better in both than here. Winters are mild and south of Houston, very rarely does it get below freezing. Not so north of the city. It did snow lightly this year around Christmas. Freakish almost.
tl;dr, but I wanted to make a correction as far as I got, which wasn't very. Houston is NOT Sam Houston's settlement. It was founded by two opportunistic brothers from New York, the Allen brothers, and in the spirit of opportunism, they named it after Sam Houston. The city's birthplace is at Allen's Landing downtown. Sam Houston's legacy is more apparent north of here in Huntsville where he settled later in life and died. And he was from Virginia, so I'm not sure how "western" his epitaph is supposed to be. The City of Houston has never been part of the Wild West.
....and Houston is thought to be the countryside? That's news.
yyyup thats what I said. Anything Texas-Mexico has that reputation. I don't think you can change that just by disagreeing
so if a kid visits a ranch all excited and laterr he found theres really nothing there thats when you start kicking the dirt and some plants. Thats Houston, its a empty ranch to younger people.
Houston's a hot naked chick that's almost perfect but may have a few minor physical flaws?
I really don't get this. Really, and I'm trying to understand.
yup, some people will just have to point out the flatness or the bad spots. but noone will be loyal enough to defend this model from anyone who comments about the obvious truth.
Houston's a hot naked chick that's almost perfect but may have a few minor physical flaws?
I really don't get this. Really, and I'm trying to understand.
TexasKid,
I think the people from elsewhere that came here (mostly for jobs) have been very fair to this place. Their views are subjective and onjective, depending on if they have lived or come from other major cities. It is only fair to compare.
For many of us, "love it or leave it" isn't an option or I would be back in Tennessee in a heartbeat.
I don't know where you have lived or where you have been in life but when you visit MONTANA, don't you say to yourself, "Man, I wish I had a piece of this!" Why do you think that is the reaction of most people, especially ones who live in the dull, unattractive, mostly treeless, dirt flats?
It's beautiful - that's why. The scenic wonder is breath-taking. ..
The same can even be said for many inner cities. DENVER as a large city, is in a valley at the foot of the Rockies with endless vistas of mountain sculpture, snow caps and highland green. Chicago has some of the most beautiful tree filled neighborhoods and diverse vegetation...so do does Detroit! Then, those cities are also built on great lakes too. It's a magic vibe because some thought went into that.
Chicago's architecture and skyline are rivaled by none. It is a city built by the great architects. People with vision. All of the small towns and communities in and around Chicago maintain their original personalities. The identities of small towns on the outskirts of Houston have been swallowed by redundant concrete strip centers, shopping plazas and homogenization of building something on every empty space . There is no discernible quality or individual identity of these places anymore. This not only speaks of lack of vision and aesthetic planning, it's speaks directly to the "let it happen so we all make money" no zoning attitude. Rarely does any unique quality can come out of random chaos.
This thread solicited the input of people about their likes and dislikes about Houston. There seems to be a genuine commonality here that you might not understand, being born and raised here but that you certainly can not refute. It is what it is and what it is not, means something to people who come from somewhere else. I think they are all describing very clearly what those things are so it is unlikely that we are all hallucinating.
They tolerate a lot of what the city is or isn't because it is one of the few places they can make a living.
What someone said earlier about this being a place that felt like a lot of people in a large land area but not like a "real" big city such as Philly, Chicago or Boston, hits the nail on the head.
Houston offers no heritage, it has no thriving inner core, it's culture is like some bygone fable that was always adopted but never lived. It is a very average place in a geographical drt plain that's very existence was saved by oil. How do they say it in Philly and Detroit - the place ain't got no soul.
By the way, I was here in the oil bust of 91-92, also in another Bush recession. As Houston has seen, when oil dies, this town dies. If I had have loved the place, in spite of what it is, I would have bought one of the hundreds of half million dollar homes that was being sold at sacrifice for 150k. But it wasn't worth my consideration.
I wish I could make it into all the things that bring enjoyment to living that means so much to me, but it's much too late for this place to become anything but much more of the same.
For those of you who were born here, this is home to you and you love it BECAUSE it is home nd you have life long connections to it. I personally mean no offense but along the way somewhere, you must have asked a question like, "why do they do this?" or "why doesn't this place have..."
As in all situations, when the public does not get involved and gives the reigns to the morons they elect to solve all the problems or do what they want, you end up with someone else's idea of how things should be and how you are supposed to live.
I know that someone made reference to the notorious Houston no-zoning as being Libertarian and i say that no zoning has nothing to do with ideologies...it has to do with the opportunity to make money in any direction and is born out of laziness and greed.
Last edited by atlantis7; 04-16-2009 at 09:58 AM..
*Houston is the 4th largest city in the US, however, to me it does not possess that big city feel that Chicago, NYC, are even Philly has.
You know, you're spot on with this assessment.
For such a large city, Houston sure has an inferiority complex when it comes to how outsiders perceive the city.
In other big cities, the people could care less what outsiders think.
You should have seen during the Superbowl down here a few years ago.
Everyone was told to "put on their best face" for visitors.
Reporters were practically wetting themselves in excitement at the chance to interview a D-list celebrity that was in town.
It bordered on being pathetic.
And anytime Houston is mentioned in a magazine, national news, etc (good or bad) a big deal is made of it.
I think it has to do with the fact that Houston is still a very "young" city compared to most other major cities and just doesn't have the history and culture of an NYC, Chicago, Philly, etc.
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Houston is Ok
And goshdarnit, there even happens to be one of those historical marker thingies at Allen's Landing about Sam Houston and the Battle of San Jacinto.
